Joel Grayson (Extinction)
|status = Deceased |age = 48 |born = 1985 |relations = (Wife) Nadine (Daughter) (Son) |last appearance = Book 5: Paradise |death = Shot by Conner |origin = United States of America |gender = Male |ethnicity = Caucasian-American |hair color = Brown |eye color = Blue |first appearance = |life span = Chapter 8 - Book 5}} |songlink = It's Not the End of the World}} Joel Grayson was a main character in Extinction. A charismatic, stubborn and god-complexed father, Joel is one hell of a man to cross paths with whose ultimate desire is to protect his family. To do so he was a high-profiling member of an international cabal, but following a plot to strip Abd Al-Qadir of his power, Joel's zone was left in ruins and his family on the run. On the road they were captured by the cannibalistic Father, but Joel was able to lead a revolt among the prisoners and escape with his family. Following their escape, Joel took charge of a group of survivors, which eventually came to include Conner. Joel and Conner begun a heated rivalry, as Conner was jealous of Joel while Joel thought him as pathetic and dangerous. Joel proved to be a capable leader who guided them through the ruins and infected hordes, where they eventually came across a zone in Delaware run by Nerlen Fader. Following their settlement within the zone, Joel and Lindsay devised a ploy to gain leadership due to a weak view on Nerlen. Following their destruction of Nerlen's credibility, Joel and Lindsay were able to secure themselves as leaders. This did not last, however, as the zone soon collapsed. Their plot revealed in the aftermath, Joel and his wife were banished by the survivors, with their own kids supporting the decision. Joel's downward spiral of denial led to Lindsay ditching him. Truly alone, Joel became a pathetic drifter until an attack by two of the cabal's mercenaries. This attack awoke his drive once again and Joel became determined to take back his life. He tracked down the group, only to discover his son dead and the others kidnapped. Teaming up with Felicia, the two worked to free the survivors from the Blackheart cult, which Lindsay has joined to survive. He was successful in rescuing some and regaining their trust; he even resisted Lindsay's offer to join the cult for his own survival but in doing so was forced to kill her. Following his own capture, Joel was forced to choose between his daughter and the others. Joel proposed a deal in which he'd give up the escaped survivor's location in exchange for him and Nadine's freedom; however, Vincent did not uphold his end of the bargain. His treachery once again revealed, Joel was shunned by Nadine and the others. Realizing his own mistakes ruined his family, Joel vowed to become a better man. Freeing himself, Joel and Conner worked on freeing the others and defeating Vincent. When Conner found himself unable to kill his son, Joel took on the task out of respect for a fellow father. However, despite Joel's genuine repentance, Conner left Joel for dead in order to escape. Taken in by a group of bandits, an injured Joel took control. Recruiting members of Blackheart, Joel headed across the country to reclaim his daughter and kill the others. Upon their arrival at the Florida zone, Joel smuggled his daughter out in hopes of winning her back, but Nadine refused him and didn't believe his truthful accounts of Conner betraying him. Blaming Conner for the collapse of his life, a revenge fueled Joel attacked the zone. He defeated Conner in their climatic battle, but Nadine arrived to shoot Joel. To spare Nadine the pain of having to kill her own father, Conner finished off Joel. Overview In simple words, Joel is everything Conner strived to be: A father who protected his family and kept his sanity. Of course, this isn't to say that Joel hasn't seen the darkness, for he sure has. Transformed by the apocalypse, Joel has turned into a stronger man, but at the cost of his own humanity. A calculating, selfish, ruthless, egotistic, manipulative man, Joel holds it all with a charismatic attitude, being able to project his beliefs and self-righteousness attitude into words. There isn't a person alive whom Joel can't charm, for Joel knows just how to get into people's hearts and heads. This, armed with his calm headed attitude and dangerous skill set, positions Joel as the leader of almost any group he works with, no matter whether they accept it or not. Despite his ruthless behavior, Joel very much does care for others, especially his own family. Everything Joel does is in their name and nothing would stop him from ensuring their safety, no matter the cost. This, of course, leads to his relationships with others, which tend to vary. While it may not seem like it sometimes, Joel very much does respect and care for comrades, and will always help protect a friend during battle; however, if one of these comrades get in the way of his family's safety, or if their death opens up a new opportunity for him, than he will waste no time dealing with them. While this is very cold hearted, Joel does feel remorse, but he justifies it by stating everything he does makes others' lives better. Joel truly is a one hell of a magnificent bastard. Arc Killed Victims *Lindsay Grayson (Book 4) *Vincent Kilderry (Book 4) *Micah Vega (Book 5) *Numerous amounts of people *Numerous amounts of infected Appearances Trivia *Joel is vastly different from his original version. The only traits that remain the same are his love for his daughter and his name. In the original, he was also played by a different actor, Liam Neeson. **As with his role in the original Extinction, Joel is a sort of mirror to Conner, and his rivalry with Conner will be much more prominent this time around. This "inverse" is shown through their respective arcs, as Conner reclaims a family while Joel loses his. *As Extinction was a largely isolated story from the rest of The Phoenix Series, Joel was to be the connective tissue to the overarching story. While Abd Al-Qadir or his cabal did not play a role in Extinction, Joel acts as a former high ranking member and so his presence allows Extinction to still be important in the overarching story, while also not derailing the grounded focus of the characters and allowing Joel to still have his own story outside his former status. This status as a connective tissue also allowed for Joel to crossover in Sin City, which takes place 5 years earlier where Joel was still a member of the cabal. *Joel is based around a Magnificent Bastard ---- Category:Extinction Characters Category:Extinction Category:Characters Category:Arrow Category:Antagonists